Catholic Charities News

The Eagle Tribune -- Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston has announced that Ethel Higgins has joined the non-profit as the Assistant Director of the North and Merrimack Valley divisions headquartered in Lowell and Lynn.

As Assistant Director, Higgins will oversee staff and social services programs as well as cultivate new and existing collaborations with local parishes and community organizations.

The Boston Globe -- For a time, Irlando Goncalves wanted to be “that dude,” the guy who got attention in school for all the wrong reasons. He and his family lived on Hendry Street in Dorchester’s Bowdoin-Geneva neighborhood, a place thick with the pitfalls and snares of urban environs. He was skipping class, clowning around, mouthing off, and getting suspended, barely squeaking through middle school, which educators say is one of the last places to catch students before they fall too far behind or drop out.

The Pilot -- Jan. 8, 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson"s declaration of an "unconditional war on poverty in America." The anniversary has created much discussion in the public square not only about the causes of poverty, but also about the effectiveness of the varied strategies employed over the past 50 years to combat poverty.

Boston Herald -- As a Savin Hill guy who’s known Marty Walsh for the better part of his adult life, Joe Burnieika would have welcomed the chance to be among the throng who attended the new mayor’s inauguration last Monday.

But “Joe B” was busy on the front lines of a war that’s been going on for the past 50 years. Near the intersection of Columbia Road and Geneva Avenue, Burnieika was at the Catholic Charities/Yawkey Center facility, supervising the weekly allotment of some 20,000 pounds of food to Bostonians living on the edge.